Nifca-Dox
September 1958. }} The Nifca-Dox (ニフカドックス) is a Japanese strut folding camera taking 6.5×9cm film plates or pack film. It was made by Nichidoku Shashinki Shōten (predecessor of Minolta) from 1930 or 1931 (see below). Name "Nifca" comes from Nichidoku Foto Camera. Taniguchi, p.276 of no.77 (article also reproduced in Tanimura, p.8 of no.116), Francesch, p.17, Nifcarette page of the Konica Minolta website. Nichi in Nichidoku means Japan, and it is certainly not coincidental that "Nifca" can also be read as Nippon Foto Camera. It is said that "Dox" refers to the giant flying boat Dornier Do X (see for example this Wikipedia page) which first flew in 1929 and made a transatlantic flight, leaving Friedrichshafen in November 1930 and reaching New York in August 1931. Taniguchi, p.275 of no.77 (article also reproduced in Tanimura, pp.7–8 of no.116). This is repeated in Francesch, p.19, Baird, p.40, Lewis, p.45, Scheibel, p.11, , item 1182, Tanimura in no.116. Description of the body The Nifca-Dox has a metal body. There is no folding bed but a rectangular front plate supported by straight spring-loaded struts at the four corners. This configuration is similar to that of the Goerz Pocket Tenax. (Nichidoku also copied the Roll-Tenax, another Goerz product, for the focusing device of the Nifcarette A.) Unlike the Tenax, the bellows is of the classical type, with multiple creases. There is a Newton finder on the photographer's left; the front element swings down along the front plate to gain size, and the rear bead is retractable too. A handle is attached to the right end of the body. The name NIFCA–DOX is inscribed of the front plate at the bottom right, as seen from the front. The serial number is at the bottom left, and the logo of Nichidoku is at the top left; the logo has the letters N'', ''D, PH and Co assembled inside a circle, surely for Nichi Doku Photo Company. The ground glass back has the same round logo embossed in the leather hood. Picture of the ground glass back visible in this page of the Nagoya Club website. Lens and shutter The shutter is ostensibly a Koilos, but at least one source says for some reason that it was "clearly made by the company (Nichidoku) itself". Awano, p.14 of no.12: シャッターもコイロス名ではあるが、明らかに自社製と思われるものを取り付け. Kamera no ayumi, p.59, says that the shutter is "of the Koilos type": コイロス型. It is mounted in a black octagonal casing protruding from the front plate. It is everset and gives 25, 50, 100, B, T speeds, set by a wheel at the top. This wheel is covered by a metal plate inscribed KOILOS and Nifca Photo, the same as on the isolated example of the Nifcarette B found with a Koilos shutter. The release lever is attached to the front of the shutter casing, and there is a connector for a cable release protruding from the octagon's left edge (as seen from the front). The lens is a front-cell focusing Nifca Anastigmat 105mm f/6.8, engraved Nifca–Anastigmat 1:6.8 f=105mm Nr xxxx with no mention of a lens maker. (Some sources mention a 105mm f/6.3 lens too, probably by mistake.) , p.672, says that two models were made, with f/6.8 or f/6.3 lens, perhaps after incorrect reports. This page of the Nagoya Camera Club says that the lens is a Nifca-Anastigmat 105mm f/6.3, perhaps a typo. The Nifca-Dox was the first Japanese model to have a front-cell focusing lens. Kamera no ayumi, p.59, and Awano, p.14 of no.12. The aperture is set by a wheel protruding from the bottom right edge of the octagon (as seen from the front), certainly containing Waterhouse stops; the selected f-number is read in a small window on the right of the lens. The Nifca Anastigmat was certainly an imported German lens that was rebranded; at the same time, the company was using a "Nifcaplan" lens made by Kenngott on the Nifcaklapp, and a "Nifcar" lens is also reported on the Nifcasport. It might have been assembled in Japan from imported elements, a practice which would become common in the 1930s (see for example Neumann & Heilemann). At least one source even suggests that the lens was made in Japan. Awano, p.14 of no.12. If this is true, the Nifca-Dox would be the first Japanese camera sold with a Japanese lens, released shortly before the Tropical Lily with Hexar lens. Commercial life Most sources say that the Nifca-Dox was released in 1930. Francesch, pp.18, 67 and 263, Awano, p.14 of no.12, Saeki, p.77 of the same magazine, Baird, p.40, Scheibel, p.11, , p.672, , item 1182. However documents compiled by the company Chiyoda Kōgaku Seikō (i.e. Minolta) and published in September 1958 say 1931 instead, and say that the Nifca-Dox appeared after the Nifcaklapp and Nifcasport. Taniguchi, p.275 of no.77, and "Hensen kamera ichiran-pyō", p.295 of the same magazine. Both documents are reproduced in Tanimura, pp.7–8 of no.116, and the chronology is reproduced in this Flickr page by Rebollo_fr. The fifty-year history book (1978) specifies February 1931, perhaps after the advertisement in described below. Minolta 50-nen no ayumi, pp.5 and 65. No original document dated 1930 is known to show the Nifca-Dox, and the camera does not appear in the January 1931 advertisement by Nichidoku Shashinki Shōten in , which shows the Nifca range with the Nifcarette, Nifcaklapp and Nifcasport. Advertisement reproduced in Awano, p.6 of no.12. The following February 1931 issue of contains a full page advertisement for the Nifca-Dox. Advertisement reproduced in Hagiya, p.9 of no.12. The price is given as , with an f/6.8 Anastigmat lens, a Koilos shutter and three plate holders. The advertisement does not mention the Do X flying boat. Two pictures are provided, both heavily retouched; none shows a serial number. One of these pictures was re-used by the company in the September 1958 historical article by Taniguchi, p.275 of no.77 (article also reproduced in Tanimura, p.8 of no.116). It is said that 2–3,000 examples of the Nifca-Dox were made. According to Tashima Gizō, interviewed by Saeki Kakugorō on p.77 of no.12. In his autobiography, Tashima Kazuo mentioned that the camera "sold like hot cakes" (free translation of 飛ぶように売れ). Tashima Kazuo, Watakushi no rirekisho, reproduced in Andō, p.2 of no.127. Actual examples Very few surviving examples of the Nifca-Dox have been observed so far, perhaps five or six. The first was belonging to the Minolta company in the 1980s; it has body no.6650, engraved as No 6650. Example pictured in Francesch, p.70, and in , item 1182. Its origin mentioned in . It was not displayed in the JCII exhibition about Konica and Minolta in 2005, and its current fate is unknown. The second and third examples have no.6671 and no.6798; their serial number is prefixed by Nr instead of No. No.6671 is pictured in Minolta 50-nen no ayumi, p.5, Baird, p.40, Lewis, p.45, , p.672, Scheibel, p.10, this page of the Manual Minolta website and this Chinese webpage. No.6798 is pictured in Awano, p.14 of no.12. The fourth belongs to the Pentax Gallery; its front markings have faded away and are only faintly legible. Example pictured in Kamera no ayumi, p.59. Pictures are known of perhaps two more examples, but their serial number is not legible. Example pictured in this page of the Nagoya Camera Club, and example pictured in Eimukku 735 Minolta, pp.131–2. All these cameras look exactly identical, except for the serial number prefix. Notes Bibliography * Andō Yoshinobu (安藤嘉信). "Arukadia no nazo" (アルカデリアの謎, Arcadia mystery). In no.127 (January 1988). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. (Brief mention of the Nifca-Dox in a quote from Tashima Kazuo's book Watakushi no rirekisho.) * Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Minoruta ryakushi" (ミノルタ略史, Minolta short history). Pp.6–8. * Awano Mikio (粟野幹男). "Senzen no Minoruta kamera" (戦前のミノルタカメラ, "Prewar Minolta cameras"). Pp.13–17. * P.40. * "Jabara-shiki kamera no kiseki" (蛇腹式カメラの軌跡", Evolution of folding cameras). Pp.131–2. Shows a very small picture with a brief caption. * Pp.18–9, 67, 70–1 and 263. * Hagiya Takeshi (萩谷剛). "Kōkoku ni miru Minoruta kamera no rekishi" (広告に見るミノルタカメラの歴史, "Minolta camera history seen through the advertisements"). Pp.9–12. * P.59. * P.45. * P.672. * Minolta Camera. Minolta 50-nen no ayumi (Minolta・50年のあゆみ, Minolta 50-year history). November 1978. Pp.5 and 65. * Saeki Kakugorō (佐伯恪五郎). "Tashima Gizō-shi ni kiku" (田嶋義三氏に聞く, "Asking Tashima Gizō"). Pp.76–9. * Pp.10–1. * no.77 (September 1958). "Hensen kamera ichiran-pyō" (変遷カメラ一らん表, Table of camera evolution.) P.295. (This is a chronology of Minolta cameras from the Nifcarette onwards. This document is reproduced in this Flickr page by Rebollo_fr.) * Item 1182. * Taniguchi Masao (谷口匡男), from the commercial department (営業部) of Chiyoda Kōgaku Seikō. "Minoruta kamera no sakujitsu, konnichi" (ミノルタ・カメラの昨日、今日, Minolta cameras, yesterday and today). In no.77 (September 1958). Pp.275–9. (The two first pages of this document, on pre-1937 cameras, are also reproduced in Tanimura, p.8 of no.116.) * Tanimura Yoshihiko (谷村吉彦). "Semi Minoruta I-gata to II-gata." (セミミノルタⅠ型とⅡ型, "Semi Minolta I and II") In no.116 (February 1987). Nishinomiya: Camera Collectors News-sha. (Contains a reproduction of the articles in no.77, a discussion of the release dates and no other information on the Nifca-Dox.) Links In English: * Nifca-Dox among Minolta folding cameras at Minman In Japanese: * Nifca-Dox in the Camera database of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology * Nifca-Dox at the Nagoya Camera Club In Chinese: * Nifca-Dox in a Chinese webpage Category: Japanese 6.5x9 folding Category: 6.5x9 strut folding Category: Minolta Category: N Category: 1930